1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a method and apparatus for managing kitchen information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, kitchen information is compiled and presented in either cookbooks or complicated programs to be run on a general purpose personal computer. As such, neither are perfectly suitable when used in the kitchen.
Cookbooks are often poorly or inappropriately organized and/or indexed. Furthermore, they are usually limited to a single cuisine, level of cooking skill, or type of meal. Thus, to cook a single meal having a number of dishes, a variety of cookbooks must be used. Additionally, cookbooks often become soiled with food when used in a kitchen, and are thus unhygienic.
Cookbook programs, on the other hand, are difficult to use while cooking as few people keep computers in the kitchen. Thus, it is usually necessary to print out the recipes to be used for a particular meal. Furthermore, since the computer is not in the kitchen, it is difficult to verify that all of the necessary ingredients of any particular recipe are on hand. In addition, using such cookbook programs is complicated and time consuming for inexperienced computer users.
Thus, there is a need for a device which contains the advantages of cookbooks, including ease of use and portability into and around the kitchen, with the advantage of cookbook programs, including recipe searching and indexing and the ability to incorporate an unlimited number of recipes from different cuisines, recipes having different cooking skill levels and recipes from different meals.